Volume XXXVIII, No. 4
May 2014
THE NOE VALLEY VOICE Grate Drama Ends Swimmingly
Library Ups Hours to Seven Days a Week
Neighborhood Dives In To Retrieve Teacher’s Keys
Read All About It From Monday to Sunday
By Heather World
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The morning didn’t start well for Alvarado kindergarten teacher Leslie Zwemer. Her electricity was out, and for a coffee lover with an electric garage door opener, that was bad enough. Then things got worse when she stepped out of the taxi she’d hired to get to Philz Coffee on Douglass Street for a quick cup of caffeine before work: her keys fell down the sewer grate. But what started as a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (a book she has sometimes read to her class) became a touching story of neighborhood empathy and generosity as Noe Valley came to her rescue. “I’m in Philz, crying,” said Zwemer, in recalling the Feb. 24 event. A sympathetic barista gave her a free coffee and muffin and suggested she contact the city to report the lost keys. A small crowd gathered around the sewer grate to help, but no one could retrieve the keys and a shaky Zwemer had to get to school anyway. “A Good Samaritan walked me to school,” she said. “Her wallet had been ripped off the day before, so she could identify with someone who was hysCONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Part of the Rescue Team. A valiant worker from Hernandez Engineering descended into the sewer to help find the set of keys dropped down the hole. Photo courtesy Leslie Zwemer
By Olivia Boler
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raced down to the children’s playground in the southeast corner. Neither the fence nor the combined courts would be included in the first round of improvements because funding
he Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Library is turning a new page this month. Starting the week of Sunday, May 11, the branch will be open on Mondays. That means the historic Carnegie library at 451 Jersey St., renovated in 2008, will now be open seven days a week.. Monday hours will be from noon to 6 p.m. All other hours will remain the same. (See page 27 for the complete schedule.) “Library users want the convenience of having the library open every day,” says Susan Higgins, adult services librarian for the Noe Valley branch. “By adding Mondays to our schedule, we’re providing better service to the community.” Last year, the Voice reported that library hours on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays might be reduced if the Monday hours were added to the schedule. However, the city’s Library Commission
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Back from the Abyss: Her bad day was already brewing by the time Leslie Zwemer (second from right) lost her grip at the corner of 24th and Douglass streets. But the black cloud lifted in the afternoon, thanks to a crew of Good Samaritans, including Philz Coffee manager Greg Matt (right) and baristas Max Wechter and Michelle Vail. Photo by Beverly Tharp
Solomon-Like Solution for Noe Courts Fence and New Rules May Separate People, Dogs, and Sports By Heather World
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ity planners are proposing a combined tennis and basketball court at Noe Courts, leaving room for a dogfriendly quadrant and a fenced-in “people zone” in the small park at Douglass and 24th streets. The compromise was born of four community meetings held in 2013, hosted by the Recreation and Park Department as it sought to coordinate spending slated for the .93-acre park. Scheduled to go before the Recreation and Park Commission on May 15, the hybrid combines two half-court basketball courts and a tennis court in the southwest corner of the park. The court would have no fence along most of its eastern side. The department would balance the needs of basketball and tennis players by posting the hours each sport had priority on the court. The plan also calls for a fence bisecting the park from north to south, creating a grassy swath on the east side that is ter-
Last Days in May: Customer Randy Koss helps Global Exchange store manager Kara Roguly by lightening the load she’ll have to pack in preparation for moving from Noe Valley. The store is leaving after 25 years on 24th Street. Photo by Corrie M. Anders
Global Exchange Closes Local Outlet Fair Trade Store Can’t Swallow Rent Increase By Corrie M. Anders
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The Gold Standard: This house on Duncan Street sold for $7 million in March, establishing a new benchmark for home sales in the neighborhood. Still, it wasn’t the only local address fetching a mind-blowing price. Find out more on page 16. Photo by Sean Poreda/LuxeHomeTours
lobal Exchange, a pioneer in the fair trade movement—selling housewares, jewelry, and crafts from independent makers around the world—has decided to call it quits in Noe Valley. The store at 4018 24th St. will close its doors on Sunday, May 4. In announcing the closure, the store said it had been caught up in the pressurecooker of rising rents affecting small businesses all over the city. The decision
to shutter the shop, a fixture in the neighborhood for 25 years, came after negotiations with the landlord failed to garner a new multi-year lease. Global Exchange staff said they are looking for a less expensive venue, most likely outside Noe Valley, and that they plan to open an online store sometime this summer. The Global Exchange outlet in Berkeley will remain open. The Noe Valley store’s final month attracted a steady stream of shoppers, who rummaged through merchandise including organic cotton clothing from Peru, tote bags made in El Salvador from recycled tires, and silver jewelry handcrafted in Bali. While browsing for bargains, cusCONTINUED ON PAGE 9